


Mary Jane: Break a Leg

by d0d0bird



Series: Marvel: Tales to Tantalize! [9]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Bondage, Bully Flash Thompson, Bully Liz Allan, Bullying, Embarrassed Mary Jane Watson, Embarrassment, Flash Thompson Being A Jerk, Flash Thompson Bullies Mary Jane Watson, Gags, Gen, Humiliation, Liz Allan Bullies Mary Jane Watson, Messy, Non-Consensual Bondage, Non-Sexual Bondage, Peter Parker Actually Treats Mary Jane Like a Human Being, Public Humiliation, Rope Bondage, Situational Humiliation, Social Humiliation, Sock gag, Swirlies, Trapped In A Closet, Verbal Abuse, Verbal Humiliation, bound and gagged, gagged, hand gag, tape gag, wedgie, wedgies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 04:09:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21403966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/d0d0bird/pseuds/d0d0bird
Summary: Liz has enlisted Flash and Michele to help her get revenge on Mary Jane for the Halloween party.Mary Jane has a big audition today, which she is already insecure about. Now she has to deal with Liz and her flunkies trying to humiliate her and destroy her confidence.
Relationships: Liz Allan & Mary Jane Watson, Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson
Series: Marvel: Tales to Tantalize! [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1507763
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Mary Jane: Break a Leg

Mary Jane whispered the lyrics to herself as she counted the time by patting her leg and bouncing her heel. Peter watched her nodding and whispering until she reached the end. Then he placed a supportive hand on her shoulder.

“You’ve got this,” assured Peter.

“I don’t know…” she muttered back.

“Come on, you’re one of the best actors I’ve ever seen!”

“Easy for you to say,” she said, “In the past few years I’ve auditioned for dozens of shows just hoping to get bit parts, but… Ugh, I faced a lot of rejection, Peter.”

“I understand,” he nodded, “and if we’re being realistic, you’ll probably face a lot more. Acting professionally is rough. Even the best ones get rejected, right?”

“Right…”

“And you’re chances are pretty good this time!” added Peter, “You’re competing against other students, not Broadway actors.”

“So I’ll be a bigger fish in this smaller pond?” scoffed Mary Jane.

“Everyone’s gotta start somewhere, right?” shrugged Peter.

“Some people would say you’re too honest, Peter Parker,” she said.

“Would you?”

“No,” whispered Mary Jane, leaning in, “I appreciate it.”

They kissed briefly before pulling apart as another student rounded the corner and passed them. Peter blushed. Mary Jane smiled.

“So I’ll swing by your place after I… Uh…” fumbled Peter, “...do my thing tonight.”

“Don’t say swing,” smirked Mary Jane, “but yes. My roommate is out and I’m going to want to be with my boyfriend when they post the cast list.”

Peter blushed again. Mary Jane smiled and rolled her eyes. It still seemed to overwhelm Peter whenever she expressed affection for him. He really was in love with her. It would be obvious even if he hadn’t told her. He had though. The same night he told her he was Spider-Man.*

*In [Spider-Man: The Girl Next Door](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21017798)

Mary Jane cared for Peter deeply, but she couldn’t quite say she felt more than that right now. At least not the way he did. Part of her felt bad about it, but she knew Peter wouldn’t want her to say something if she didn’t mean it. Even if she didn’t feel the exact way he did, he made her very happy.

“I should get going,” said Peter quietly, “Got to get to my… uh, job. See you tonight. Break a leg!”

Mary Jane waved as her boyfriend ran off to his nightly escapade. It had been hard to wrap her head around at first, but she really was dating Spider-Man. He went out, dazzled and amazed crowds of hundreds, and then came home as the sweet, sensitive boy she knew and cared for.

She pushed those thoughts from her mind and brought the focus back to the audition. Empire State University was putting on a production of _Once Upon a Mattress_. Theater majors like Mary Jane had to make it into a minimum number of university shows in order to graduate, so the stakes were relatively high.

Mary Jane’s aim was the role of Princess Winnifred, the lead. The character was well within her range and her scenes would all work well with Mary Jane’s performance style. She had a real shot at the role, but primarily she just hoped to make it into the cast.

She was already dressed for the audition. She wore a white button down, a black bow tie, stretchy black slacks, and black character shoes with black socks. It was a sharp look, but not one that would restrict her movement too much for the dance portion of the audition.

The auditions were scheduled ahead of time. Students had signed up to audition in small groups. Mary Jane’s was the last one of the night at 6:00, so she still had some time. She decided to clear her head for the moment. She went into the bathroom to wash her face.

“What are you doing to that poor girl!?” she found herself shouting as soon as she walked in.

Mary Jane had walked into the bathroom to the sight of Liz Allan and Michele Gonzales hoisting Carlie Cooper into the air by a massive wedgie. The scrawny Carlie never stood a chance against the pair. They had hiked the frilly white briefs out of her black jeans and were hooking the waistband to the stall’s coat hook as Carlie’s glasses fell to the floor.

“Watson,” said Liz plainly and she and Michele let Carlie fall into the hanging wedgie, “We’ll be with you in a moment. We have unfinished business with Cooper.”

“Come on, guys!” groaned Carlie, “This really hurts!”

“Then explain to me why I only got an A- on the last paper you wrote for me!” demanded Michele.

“Or the B I got on the one you wrote for me!” added Liz, suddenly very angry.

“I’m sorry,” whimpered Carlie, “Lit classes have always been hard for me… I had never even heard of the patristic period before you asked me to write those papers! Please just let me down!”

“Hm,” said Liz, feigning consideration, “No, I think we’ll just leave you here to think about what you’ve done.”

“You most certainly will NOT!” shouted Mary Jane, “Not if I have anything to say about it!”

Liz and Michele looked to one another. Then they smiled and approached Mary Jan with deviance in their eyes.

“Hey, wait!” pled Mary Jane as the women grabbed her and dragged her into the stall, “What are you-”

Mary Jane let out a yelp as they shoved her butt-first into the toilet. Mary Jane winced as they pushed down and shoved her hips through the toilet seat, splashing her butt down into the water and soaking her pants and underwear. Mary Jane went to get back up but realized that she couldn’t. Her hips were caught, leaving her stuck in the toilet with her butt sitting in the water. 

“Oh, that’s right!” grinned Liz, “You have a big audition today; don’t you, Watson?”

Mary Jane looked away. She suddenly felt very insecure and couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact with Liz.

“Well, break a leg!” laughed Liz, walking out of the bathroom.

Michele followed up by flushing the toilet, causing Mary Jane to squeal and squirm with disgust as the cold water swirled around her butt over and over again. Finally, Mary Jane and Carlie were alone.

“Christ,” grunted Mary Jane, gripping the pipes and plucking herself out of the toilet with a sharp tug.

She moaned as she stepped away from the toilet, butt still soaking wet and hips still stinging from being crammed into the toilet. She turned around and unhooked Carlie, politely looking away as Carlie shoved the undies back into her jeans and fixed the wedgie.

“What’s her problem with you?” asked Carlie, picking her glasses up off the floor.

“Her ex has a thing for me,” shrugged Mary Jane, “also I beat her unconcious on Halloween*”

*In [Spider-Man: Halloween is for Hookups](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21164174)

“Oh.”

“What brings you here?” asked Mary Jane.

They were in the Williams Building, the home of ESU’s theater department. Biology majors like Carlie had no real reason to be there.

“I’m doing lighting for the show,” said Carlie, “You know, _Mattress_?”

“No way!” smiled Mary Jane, “I’m here for the auditions!”

Mary Jane winced as she realized that her pants and underwear were still soaked in toilet water. She inched over to the paper towels and began patting down her butt to dry it off.

“You going for a particular role?” asked Carlie.

“Winnifred.”

“Really? Ha! Good luck.”

Mary Jane looked at Carlie in disappointed confusion.

“Sorry,” she added, “It’s just, Sally is auditioning for this show, right?”

“...right.”

Sally Avril was a friend of Mary Jane’s. In fact, Mary Jane had orchestrated her hookup with Peter at the recent Halloween party. Sally was a talented actress. Her sense of comic timing was precise and her voice was astoundingly good. Carlie was right to be skeptical; if Sally was auditioning, Mary Jane didn’t stand much of a chance.

“Anyway, thanks!” added Carlie as she went to leave, “And in all seriousness, break a leg. I do hope you get the role.”

Mary Jane smiled as Carlie ran off. Mary Jane returned her attention to the mirror and washed her face. 

***

“I can’t believe you let her off so easily,” said Michele, “After what she did to you on Halloween…”

“Shut up, Michele!” barked Liz, scaring her friend into silence.

Michele wasn’t wrong though. Mary Jane had completely humiliated Liz at Flash’s Halloween party. She had attacked her in front of the entire party, completely subdued her, and added insult to injury by giving her a waistband-ripping wedgie in front of everyone. Of course Liz had started it, but that was neither here nor there.

The fact remained that shoving Mary Jane into that toilet was not nearly enough to constitute revenge. Liz would have to do more. She would have to take away something that mattered to her. She would have to leave her feeling as weak and powerless as she had left Liz feeling on Halloween. She just needed to figure out how.

“Heads up,” whispered Michele, “Ex marks the spot.”

The two were sitting on a bench behind the Williams Building, smoking while Michele looked about for any faculty that might shoo them off. Instead she had spotted Flash Thompson. Flash and Liz had broken up several weeks ago after years of dating through both high school and college. Since then, Flash had set his sights on Mary Jane. Liz did not appreciate that.

“Eugene!” shouted Liz.

Flash froze in place and glared up at her. Flash didn’t care for his given first name, hence why most people referred to him by the nickname “Flash.” Liz generally respected that as well, but when dating him she had found his sensitivity related to the name to be a convenient way to put him on edge and remind him that she was in charge.

“What?” asked Flash quietly as he approached the two.

“What are you up to?” demanded Liz.

“Notging...”

“Don’t bullsiht me,” ordered Liz, “You wouldn’t come within a mile of an arts building if you could help it. What are you doing here?”

Flash looked around uncomfortably, but didn’t answer.

“Auditions are today,” he finally muttered.

“You auditioning or something?” asked Michele.

“No,” answered Liz and Flash’s behalf, “but Watson is.”

Flash looked angrily at Liz. She had read him perfectly.

“Give it up,” scoffed Liz, “Watson isn’t into you anymore than I am. That’s why she left you high and dry on Halloween.”

“Maybe I’ve gotten over that,” said Flash unassuredly, “Or maybe I’m here to teach her a lesson.”

“What are you going to do, give her a wedgie?” asked Liz, “This isn’t the boy’s locker room, Flash. That won’t change what she did to you.”

Michele looked over at Liz. She was digging at Flash, but Michele could tell those words were coming from Liz’s own experience as well.

“What do you suggest?” asked Flash, huffy.

“How much do you think this audition matters to her?” asked Liz to both Michele and Flash, “She did these stupid shows all the time in high school; I don’t remember her being too worked up over those.”

“At first I thought she gave up the whole acting thing,” said Flash, “She didn’t get that scholarship and she didn’t exactly make it as an actress after high school.”

Liz scowled at Flash. She didn’t like that he knew that much about Mary Jane’s personal life. It’d be one thing if he had caught up on her recent life, but he was talking about stuff that had happened to her years ago. How long had he been eyeing that red headed dork?

“Then she’s probably depending a lot on this audition,” said Michele quietly.

“What was that?” asked Liz sharply.

“Well if she’s had to deal with a lot of rejection lately,” said Michele, “Then it probably matters to her a lot that she do well tonight.”

“It probably does...” grinned Liz.

***

There was still quite some time before Mary Jane would have to audition, so she decided to get some work done. Unfortunately, being a theater major didn’t exclude her from written coursework. In addition to preparing for this audition, she had assignments to do.

She was in the atrium of the Williams Building now, reading through the pages of one of her theater history books. There were a few other students lounging about; it was a popular study area. The atrium was quite pretty, located on the second floor of the building and having a wide spread of desks to work at. There was even a balcony overlooking the floor below.

Mary Jane noticed that Sally was there too, presumably also waiting for her audition. Mary Jane was frustrated. She loved Sally and wished her well, but it was infuriating to have to compete against someone so talented. 

Seymour O’Reilly was present as well, but not studying. The football team had set up a table selling refreshments to raise money. The initiative was Seymour’s doing. The football team was already well-funded, but Seymour had convinced them to let him try this. He was always starting some elaborate project or other like this. They rarely succeeded, but he usually seemed to enjoy himself.

Mary Jane, tired of reading, went up to Seymour to buy something from him. In reality, she just needed to distract herself. Spending too much money on a refillable Gatorade bottle seemed like as good a way to do it as any. Seymour chatted with her as he used the water cooler to fill the bottle up with bright red juice.

“You’re my third customer today,” smiled Seymour, “At this rate, I might even break even!”

Mary Jane and Seymour chuckled. He handed her the drink and she reluctantly returned to her work. She wanted to just focus on the audition, but if she didn’t buckle down and get this done her grades would slip and none of this would matter anyway.

Mary Jane was most of the way through with her reading when Flash made his way up the stairs into the atrium with them. Mary Jane didn’t like that. What was that meathead doing in the theater building? The last time she saw him she had tricked him into leaving his own party on Halloween. She couldn’t imagine he would be kind to her.

To Mary Jane’s surprise, he didn’t even look her way. He walked directly up to Seymour. The two chatted briefly, mostly regarding the goings on of their fellow football players, before he offered to take over. Seymour was stunned, not having expected anyone else on the team to get behind his idea. Flash insisted though, so Seymour offered him his chair and left for a bathroom break.

Mary Jane was as surprised as Seymour. Since when did Flash care about helping others out? Especially when it involved sitting around doing nothing in an atrium? Mary Jane watched Flash out of the corner of her eye as she kept reading. Eventually their lines of sight matched up. He winked at her. She shuddered. It was time to go.

Mary Jane gathered her things and got up to leave. Ignoring Flash completely, she walked toward the stairs and planned to find another place to study. She was nearing the stairs when Liz and Michele came walking up them towards her. Mary Jane looked at them both suspiciously. They smiled.

“Watch your step,” whispered Liz as she passed Mary Jane.

Mary Jane turned to Liz angrily, not trusting her enough to turn her back. Unfortunately, this meant turning her back to Michele. Michele walked quickly behind Mary Jane and gave her a light kick in the back of her knee. Mary Jane gasped as her leg buckled and her foot slid off the step. The next thing she knew she was tumbling down the stairs, crying out in pain as she landed hard on the corner of each individual stair before she slid out onto the floor at the bottom.

Mary Jane groaned as she wearily got to her knees, cursing herself for falling for such a stupid trick. Everyone was looking at her now. She had just gotten up to her feet when she felt a powerful impact on her back followed by a freezing sensation across her entire body as she was soaked in red liquid.

Mary Jane gasped and looked up to see Flash holding the empty water cooler upside down over the balcony, having dumped every gallon of Gatorade onto Mary Jane. She looked down at herself. Her white shirt had been stained pink and her clothes were sticking to her skin. It felt disgusting.

Mary Jane calmed herself and ignored the snickers and comments coming from the balcony above her. Liz and Michele in particular were cackling loudly. She still had an audition that night. She couldn’t let herself be thrown by some petty prank.

So she took a deep breath, gathered her things, and walked off with as much dignity as she could muster. Liz and Michele’s cackling slowly died out as they realized they hadn’t been as successful as they thought. Mary Jane was mostly unaffected and still planned to go through with the audition. Michele and Flash looked to Liz expectantly.

“Alright,” she said, “Time for Plan B.”

***

Mary Jane sighed. There was only a few more hours before the audition. She had to eat at some point, but her stomach was writhing in anxiety. If she ate right before the audition she’d be nauseous, but if she didn’t eat soon she’d pass out before she even got there. She had bought a bagel at the campus coffee shop, but still hadn’t brought herself to eat it yet. Now seemed like the time.

She was in another corner of the Williams Building now. This area was much less crowded. Mary Jane sat alone on a bench by herself, trying to get some peace and quiet before she had to face the audition. It hadn’t seemed like a big deal at first, but the more she thought about it the more nerve wracking it got. She honestly didn’t know what she’d do if she got rejected again. She had wanted to act for her entire life, but maybe if she couldn’t even make into a school show it would be the world’s way of telling her…

“Watson!”

Mary Jane looked up. Liz, Michele, and Flash had walked up to her. She scowled at them and returned to eating her bagel.

“Sorry about earlier,” said Michele with a grin, “Those stairs can be a nightmare.”

Mary Jane just continued to eat.

“Sorry about the spill,” added Flash, “It was a total accident, I swear. Won’t happen again.”

She finished the last bite and began to crumple up the bag.

“Why don’t you just give up, Watson?” asked Liz.

“Give what up?”

“This pipe dream of being a star,” scoffed Liz, “You’re not a little girl anymore. Surely you’ve realized how ridiculous this is.”

Mary Jane didn’t respond. She knew Liz was just trying to rile her up and pick at her confidence.

“Or haven’t you learned anything from getting rejected over and over again?”

It still hurt to hear her say it, though.

“Face it, Watson,” said Liz, “You’re doomed to fail over and over again until you finally learn that you’re not cut out for this. You’re a loser and you always will be.”

Mary Jane looked away.

“But go ahead,” continued Liz, “Go out for that audition today. I’m sure this time it’ll be different. I’m sure this time you’ll miraculously become talented and your dreams will finally come true.”

Mary Jane clenched her hands together and bit her lip to keep from showing how scared she was feeling.

“Or,” said Liz, walking closer to Mary Jane and staring down at her, “You’ll make a complete fool of yourself again. They’ll reject you and you’ll go home to your wimpy boyfriend, who will tell you it’s alright and that you’ll do better next time. But you won’t. You’ll either finally accept that you’re not good enough, or condemn yourself to a lifetime of hopeless desperation.”

Mary Jane finally looked back at Liz. She had said all she needed to say. She walked away, followed by Flash and Michele. Mary Jane looked at the crumpled bag filled with napkins and bagel crumbs. She knew Liz was just trying to get to her, but… It worked. Mary Jane couldn’t bring herself to audition anymore. She got up and left.

***

Mary Jane slowly made her way down the dormroom halls. She wearily approached her dorm and walked in. She flopped herself down onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. She looked at her phone after a minute. She had gotten a text from Peter. He had just sent it.

**I have a few minutes of downtime. How are you? How are you feeling about the audition?**

Mary Jane sighed. How could she tell him? He was out there fighting crime and here she was too scared to face another “no” from a casting director. Could she just lie and tell him she auditioned and they rejected her? No, she couldn’t bring herself to lie to him. He was so earnest and trusting. She owed it to him to honest.

**I don’t think I’m going to do it** she responded.

A few seconds later the phone started to ring. Mary Jane considered hanging up. She didn’t know if she was ready to face Peter with all of this insecurity. Then she remembered who this was. Peter would know better than anyone how to handle her when she felt this way.

“Hi Pete,” she said, answering the phone.

“Hey,” he said back gently, “What’s up? What’s wrong?”

“I just don’t know if I can do it,” admitted Mary Jane.

“That’s okay,” assured Peter, “Can you tell me why?”

“It’s just…” she said slowly, “I think they’ll reject me.”

“Why?”

“Because everyone else has!”

“That’s not true,” said Peter quickly, “You were always getting the roles you wanted in high school.”

“Yeah,” sighed Mary Jane, “Maybe…”

“Listen,” said Peter, “I get it. It sounds like this audition could be really upsetting for you. But whether you make it or don’t make it, you’re still Mary Jane Watson. And that’s the best part of you, in my opinion.”

“You’re such a dork,” chuckled Mary Jane. 

She thought for a moment.

“What if I don’t audition at all?” she asked, “What if I just can’t bring myself to do it?”

“That’s fine too,” he said, “You know your limits better than anyone. I trust you to do what’s best for you.”

Mary Jane smiled and nodded. She knew he couldn’t see it, but she found herself doing it anyway.

“And for what it’s worth,” he continued, “I think you’ll knock ‘em dead if you audition.”

“Thanks, Tiger.”

“Oops!” said Peter suddenly, “Bad guys just pulled up. Gotta go. Break a leg!”

The phone clicked off. Mary Jane smiled at it. Peter really did know just what to say. This was just one audition. Her life wouldn’t fall apart if she did poorly. The only reason she was doubting herself was Liz. Hell, if Liz and them were willing to go so far to hurt Mary Jane’s self-esteem then there must be something to her. Maybe she really could do this!

Mary Jane checked the time. It was almost 5:00. She could still make it.

***

Mary Jane finished touching up her makeup. It looked pretty damn good. She was back in the Williams Building bathroom, now dead set on auditioning.

She did a quick pat down on her butt. The fabric of the pants had been stretching in a funny way since it had been soaked in toilet water and gatorade. Mary Jane had bought these pants specifically for auditions and she had no idea how water might damage them. She hoped it wouldn’t be a big deal.

She took a deep breath and steadied herself. It was about 5:30 now. She returned the makeup to her purse and walked out of the bathroom. She began making her way to the room where auditions were taking place. She wanted to find some time to herself to warm up first, but she’d at least sign in first to ensure her place in the lineup.

Since auditions were nearly over, the building was mostly empty. Mary Jane was the only one walking down the hallway when a utility closet door burst open in front of her. Before she could respond, three people were upon her and overpowering her. Mary Jane opened her mouth to call for help, but Flash’s hand clasped down onto her face and held the cry in. Michele and Liz were there as well, grabbing Mary Jane by the hair and shirt and forcing her into the closet. Once all of them were inside Michele closed the door behind them.

“You picked a fight with the wrong bitch,” said Liz angrily, “Do you know that, Watson?”

“What the hell is wrong with you!?!” Mary Jane screamed the moment she freed her face from Flash’s hand, but he had clasped down again before she could say anything else.

“It didn’t need to be this way,” said Liz as Michele pulled rope out of a bag and handed it to her, “but you just don’t know when to stay down.”

Michele and Liz set about restraining Mary Jane. They bound her ankles and wrists first before tying her elbows to her sides in a harness, rendering her arms completely immobile. The rope was from the theater’s backstage workshop, so it was plenty strong to hold Mary Jane down. Michele pulled out a roll of duct tape and ripped off a single strip to use on Mary Jane’s face.

“Seriously?” scoffed Liz, “No. Allow me. Flash: sock.”

“No way!” whined Flash, “This is a new pair!”

“Sock. NOW!”

Flash hurriedly removed one of his shoes and then the white sock he had on under it. He placed the sock in Liz’s hand before putting the shoe back on, visibly uncomfortable. Liz then approached Mary Jane. Mary Jane struggled and tried to cry out, but the sound was muffled by the sock being shoved back into her throat. She winced and reeled in disgust as the taste of sweaty cotton filled her mouth. When the entire sock had been crammed in there, Liz took the duct tape from Michele and got to work. She taped down over the mouth, holding the sock in, and then proceeded to wrap the tape around Mary Jane’s head tightly half a dozen times. When she was done, a firm duct tape binding held the sock tightly in Mary Jane’s mouth as she stood there helplessly. Liz gave her a light shove. Mary Jane toppled into a painful fall, landing in the corner of the closet.

“Too bad about your audition,” sneered Liz, “I’m probably doing you a favor though. You might as well save yourself the embarrassment of another failure.”

Mary Jane looked sadly to the ground as Liz walked out of the closet cackling, followed by Michele and Flash. The door slammed shut behind them, leaving Mary Jane in the dark. She sat there, completely unable to move, ankles bound together and arms tightly held together against her torso. She’d have called for help, but the sock taped into her mouth silenced every decibel of sound her mouth could hope to make.

The closet stank of cleaner. Mary Jane hated it. There was a mop bucket of dirty water to one side and rat poison to the other. She looked up at the door on the other end of the closet and sighed. She had to try something.

She began to scoot her butt closer and closer to the door, dragging herself with her bound legs inch by inch. She flinched as she felt her butt drag across a nail on the floor. She heard the _pop_ of the nail piercing her pants and felt it stab her butt. She sighed with relief when she got herself off of it and finally reached the door. Not knowing what else to do, she began kicking the door over and over again.

It seemed stupid, but she had to try something. She couldn’t let Liz win like this. She had fought so hard for so long for a chance like this and she wouldn’t let Liz take it away from her. No, if Mary Jane was going to be a loser again, she’d at least fail while giving it her all. She wouldn’t let herself lose lying down.

So she kicked and kicked and kicked. She knew her chances were low. She knew few students were even in the building today. Until she thought of something else though, this would be her plan. She continued to kick and wished with all her might that someone would hear her.

Her wish was answered. After almost half an hour of kicking, the door was pulled open and Mary Jane found herself staring at Carlie Cooper. Carlie gasped and rushed into the closet, inspecting Mary Jane up and down in shock.

“Mary Jane!” she realized, “Oh my gosh! What happened? Who did this? Was it Liz?”

Mary Jane managed a nod.

“I’m going to go get some help!” said Carlie.

Mary Jane began aggressively shaking her head. She had a reputation to uphold in this department. She didn’t want the faculty knowing she was humiliated by another student like this.

“No?” realized Carlie, “Then should I try to help you?”

Mary Jane nodded aggressively this time. Carlie began to inspect the duct tape and rope. She fiddled with some of the knots and ends, but was completely unable to undo them. Liz and Michele had really gone the extra mile with this.

“Nnh shnnh!” strained Mary Jane through the tape.

“What?”

“Nnh shnnh!”

Mary Jane began to swing her head in a direction over and over again.

“You want me to take you somewhere?”

Mary Jane nodded.

“That way?”

She nodded again.

“Where? The shop?”

Mary Jane smiled with relief and another nod. If Carlie couldn’t get the ropes off herself, they could use the tools in the workshop. Mary Jane knew her way around the shop well enough to find what they needed quickly. They’d have to hurry though, her audition swas any minute now.

Carlie helped Mary Jane to her feet and guided her as she hopped down the halls. They kept to the sides and looked around corners as they went; Mary Jane didn’t want anyone else in her department to see her predicament. Luckily even the workshop was empty today.

Mary Jane continued to guide Carlie with head nods as they hobbled through the workshop. Eventually they made it to a workbench covered in tools. Carlie leaned Mary Jane up against it and looked around for something that might help. Nothing seemed like it would work. Carlie was sighing in frustration when Mary Jane turned around to see if she could find anything. Unfortunately, this turn was enough to throw Mary Jane completely off balance.

She let out a muffled cry of surprise as she fell to the ground. She managed to turn and roll the landing onto her back, minimizing most of the impact from hurting her. The fall still kicked out a cloud of sawdust, which stung Mary Jane’s eyes and nose as it settled around her. When it finally cleared Mary Jane could see a box cutter across the room.

“Mmnph!” she cried out, “Mmph!”

“Sorry, sorry,” apologized Carlie, kneeling beside Mary Jane, “Here, let me help you up-”

Mary Jane shook her head and stared at the box cutter. Realizing what she meant, Carlie rushed over to the knife and grabbed it. She turned to return to Mary Jane, but realized that this particular box cutter was chained to its bench so no one would steal it. Carlie looked at the knife and back at Mary Jane. Mary Jane nodded.

Carlie rushed over to Mary Jane’s side. She used one hand to grab the rope around Mary Jane’s torso and used the other to get a good grip on the back of Mary Jane’s pants. Carlie wasn’t strong enough to life Mary Jane, but she could get her close enough to the box cutter with some effort.

So Carlie began to heave, dragging Mary Jane across the floor by her arms and pants a couple of inches at a time. Mary Jane winced in pain every time as the ropes tightened on her wrists and the pants were pulled up her butt. She heard a tearing sound on one of the tugs as it further strained the fabric of her pants.

Finally, Carlie dragged Mary Jane close enough to the knife to use it. By this point Mary Jane was covered in sawdust and other bits of materials scattered around the floor. Her stained pink shirt was positively filthy, her bow tie was loosely hanging around her neck, and her meticulously applied makeup was a mess. Carlie finally cut through the duct tape and tore it off. Mary Jane spat out the sock and gasped inward for a long awaited breath of fresh air. She coughed when she inhaled a lungful of sawdust in the process. She needed water badly.

“Oh thank goodness,” sighed Carlie, “We’re almost there.”

Soon enough Carlie had severed the ropes as well as Mary Jane could finally stand and move freely again. Her elbows, wrists, and ankles stung from the bindings. Her fingers and toes tingled with numbness from the circulation loss. Mary Jane hugged Carlie with relief.

“Oh God,” she realized, pulling back, “What time is it?”

“Almost 6:00,” said Carlie, “Why? Oh, wait! Have you not auditioned yet!?”

“No!”

“You have to get there now!”

“I know!!”

Mary Jane ran for her audition at full speed. She would have to be included in her group to make it; the department didn’t allow solo auditions. Mary Jane made it to the sign up table within minutes of the deadline, gasping for breath and keeling over in exhaustion. The registrar at the table and other students stared at her in disbelief. Most of them were in fine dresses or suits, calm and collected from preparation. Mary Jane was an absolute mess with her outfit and hair in complete disarray. She was sweaty and her mouth was dry. It was a terrible state to audition in.

“Please,” she gasped, “My name is Mary Jane… I’m here to audition…”

“You’re just in time,” said the registrar wearily, “Do you have your audition form?”

“Oh no,” realized Mary Jane, horrified, “No, it’s in my purse in the…”

It had to still be in the utility closet where Liz tied her up. That was halfway across the building! The audition group would be done before she got back.

“You know where it is?”

Mary Jane looked up. It was Sally. She must have been in the same audition group. She was wearing a sharp blue dress over black tights. She looked prepared. She looked at Mary Jane with a mix of sympathy and pity.

“Yeah,” murmured Mary Jane embarrassed, “I know where it is.”

“Go and get it,” smiled Sally, “We’ll wait for you to start.”

“You mean it?”

That would be perfect! Even if Mary Jane was late, they’d let her audition if the rest of her group waited for her.

“Of course,” said Sally.

The other students nodded in agreement. Mary Jane smiled at them and began a brisk walk for the closet. Sure enough, she found her purse and audition form inside. She returned to the auditions with it in hand and turned it over. She brushed herself off best she could and got in line with the rest of her audition group. Within minutes they were let in.

_Here we go…_ thought Mary Jane.

She was a little more prepared now than she was moments ago. She felt more confident, more ready for the pressure. Liz had tried to stop her and had surely made a dent in her day, but Mary Jane was sure now more than ever that she was ready to fight for this role.

That confidence began to wane as she watched the other auditions in her group. Most of all, Sally’s. Sally’s monologue was hilarious and perfectly timed. She hit every note perfectly in her singing audition. She had mastered the dance impressively too, leaving Mary Jane with a looming feeling of inevitable failure.

“Miss Watson,” said the director, “You’re up.”

Mary Jane went to swallow nervously, but her mouth was too dry and coated in sawdust. Instead she silently rose to her feet and walked up to the table. She started with her monologue. She had practiced it dozens of times; its performance was second nature by now. She didn’t let herself think about the execution, she just moved onto the singing portion of the audition.

Unfortunately, Mary Jane’s voice and throat were too dry to effectively sing or hit the right notes. She tried to adjust accordingly and make herself sound passable, but when it came to the important note she tried to hit in anyway and ended up letting out a mortifyingly off-key note in a scratchy voice.

Mary Jane kept her focus and moved onto the dancing audition. She had rehearsed this part even more than the monologue. She put every ounce of her energy into it, making the most of her expressive face and long-limbed body to give the dance as much energy and character as possible.

Mary Jane’s heart raced as she approached the end of the dance. The final moment of it was a leap into the air followed by landing facing away. Mary Jane had put her own spin on it in hopes of impressing the director; her rendition of the dance ended in her dramatically landing in the splits during the final leap. She reached the pivotal moment in the song, leapt in the air, spun away from the judges, came down into the splits, and heard a terrifyingly loud ripping sound erupt from behind her. 

_Oh no…_ she realized.

She heard at least one snicker. Apparently the strain had taken its toll on Mary Jane’s pants throughout the day. When she landed in the splits, the seam across her butt split wide open. There was now a wide window on the seat of her pants revealing her hot pink undies to the director, the production team, and every other student auditioning in the group. Mary Jane felt her face turn hot as she went bright red. She didn’t move.

“Um…” said the director after a moment, “Thank you for your audition.”

Mary Jane scrambled to her feet, realizing how long she had held the embarrassing pose. She turned to face the director meekly. He gave her a final nod and she rushed back to the door and ran out of the room. She couldn’t bear to watch the other auditions. Not after that failure. Not after overcoming all of that just to make a complete clown of herself in front of the director.

_I can’t believe it!_ she thought as she ran home, _I bombed again. All that hard work and effort just to ruin it for myself at the end! What’s wrong with me!?_

So she ran all the way back to her dorm. She threw off her ripped and sawdust-coated clothes and buried her face in her covers, waiting for Peter to come home and comfort her.

***

The knock on the door woke Mary Jane up. She looked around her dorm. When her vision caught sight of her ruined clothes discarded on the floor next to her she had remembered what happened.

“One second,” she muttered.

She pulled on a T-shirt and some sweatpants before opening the door. Peter was standing there with a huge smile on his face. The light faded from the smile when he saw the look of shame and self-pity on Mary Jane.

“MJ,” he said quietly, “What’s wrong?”

“Come in,” she whispered.

“MJ, the audition,” he said, “Did you-”

“It was awful,” she said, returning to her bed, “I blew it, Peter. I really blew it. I butchered the song and I even… I ripped my pants open right in front of everyone. It was horrible. Humiliating! I don’t want to think about it anymore, I just-”

“Hey,” assured Peter, closing the door behind him and joining her on the bed, “Hey, hey, it’s alright. It’s alright. That sounds awful, MJ. But you’re still an amazing actress and I’m sure you’ll-”

“I sure don’t feel like one,” sobbed Mary Jane, barely holding back her tears, “What am I supposed to do now?!”

“I understand,” said Peter, gripping her hand tightly, “It sounds horrible. I can’t know what you’re feeling right now, but I understand. I don’t know what comes next, but I trust you to make the right choice. If you want to drop the show-”

“Drop the show?”

“I- Have you not checked your email?” asked Peter in confusion.

Mary Jane stared at Peter for a moment before lunging for her purse. She fumbled through it and pulled out her phone, furiously tapping her way into her email inbox to see the cast list the department had sent out. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw the first line.

**Princess Winnifred - Mary Jane Watson**

She had done it. She couldn't believe it. Now the tears were no longer being held back. She began to cry as she smiled at her phone. In all those years of failure, she had never found even a hint of success. There were times when she thought she’d never make it through another audition. She had really done it though. Despite Liz’s every attempt to thwart Mary Jane, her talent and worth as an actress was enough to finally get her into a show. Not only that, but with the exact role she was hoping to get.

“That audition sounded rough,” said Peter after a moment, “but it must have left a good impression on them!”

“I made a real idiot of myself,” chuckled Mary Jane, “but I guess I showed them I could do comedy well enough!”

Peter leaned over and hugged her tightly. She smiled and leaned into him, feeling his tight embrace around her whole body. Peter’s arms were slender, but his hugs were always tight and warm.

“So that’s why you were smiling when you came in,” she realized with a weak smile of her own, “You were about to congratulate me.”

“Yeah,” nodded Peter, grabbing his backpack, “That’s also why I got you this…”

Peter reached into his backpack and pulled out a small white box. He handed it to her as she carefully opened it and smelled the scent of dark chocolate.

“From that chocolate place you like,” smiled Peter.

“The one in Brooklyn?”

“Yup! Congratulations, MJ,” said Peter warmly, “You really did it. I’m proud of you.”

The two shared another tight hug before Mary Jane pulled back in confusion.

“What were you doing all the way in Brooklyn?” she asked.

Peter looked around the room. He was hesitating. Mary Jane didn’t like that.

“Peter,” she said firmly, “I want this to work, I really do, but for that to happen you can’t be hiding things from me. That includes Spider-Man things. You know that.”

“I know,” nodded Peter, “You’re right, you’re right.”

“So what was it?”

“Promise you won’t tell Jessica?”

“What is it, Peter?”

“I was shutting down a Gnucci gambling house,” he said, “Do you know the Gnucci family?”

“Yes,” said Mary Jane solemnly, “Are you sure you want to be messing with them?”

“I won’t have to anymore,” said Peter proudly, “The heads of the family got arrested when the cops showed. Plenty of incriminating evidence there, too. They’re going away for a long time!”

“Peter,” realized Mary Jane, “Are you saying you took down one of the biggest crime families in New York?”

“Yes,” he nodded, “and that’s only the beginning. Looks like we’re both winners tonight!”

Mary Jane leaned over and kissed him. She moaned happily when he kissed her back.

“Yeah,” she whispered, “It’s a nice change of pace.”

***

Walter Declun crossed the item off the agenda in his notebook. He looked nervously down at the final action item and considered how best to bring it up. He tapped his pen against his knee as he considered his options.

“Well?” said the huge man sitting across from him impatiently, “Is that all, Mr. Declun?”

“No, sir,” said Declun anxiously, “There’s one more thing to address.”

“What’s that?”

“This quarter’s losses,” he said, eyeing the numbers on the other page of his notebook, “They’re… as you suspected.”

“Can you confirm the source of the lost income?” asked the man calmly.

“Yes,” nodded Declun, “It can be tied directly to the deals and storehouses broken up by Spider-Man.”

“And today he took down the Gnuccis,” said the man, “Do you have an estimation on the total losses that we will suffer as a result of that?”

“No,” said Declun, “but as you can imagine, early projections put those numbers in the millions…”

“Millions… I see,” said the man, standing and terrifying Declun with his massive size, “That will inform my decision on the price.”

“The price of what, sir?” asked Declun.

“The bounty,” said Wilson Fisk, “The bounty which I will place on Spider-Man’s head.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted a more MJ-focused story this time


End file.
